Handmade Christmas Gifts: Hemp and Aventurine Wrap Bracelet or Necklace

Hemp Aventurine Wrap Bracelet or Necklace Projecteasier.com

Hemp Aventurine Wrap Bracelet or Necklace Projecteasier.com

I always try to make some of my Christmas or holiday presents. I myself really love getting handmade gifts and I know that some of my friends and relatives appreciate it too. As our world gets more and more commercialized, a handmade gift given to the right person can mean so much  more than a purchased one.

I’ve had these small, faceted, aventurine beads for a long time. I love semi precious stones–jewelry, beads, and the stones themselves.

Aventurine is known to be a healing stone which brings energy and opportunity.

Thanks to Jewelry Making Journal, I followed this tutorial, with several changes. I only had 42 beads and I put 5 chain stitches between beads. I used 10lb hemp which I got at my local craftstore, Beverly’s. I used a 2.75 mm hook, because that’s what I had. After the piece was finished, I blocked it by wetting in warm water, and stretching it with pins across my ironing board. This made the bracelet longer and less bumpy–more “finished” looking.

I like the natural, low-bling, boho style of this piece! Next time I think I will vary the number of stitches between beads to make the beads fall less uniformly.  I’m not crazy about the way the beads fall in a crooked line on my wrist. It may fall differently on another size wrist.  Not sure about that.

The bracelet wraps around my wrist 9 times and can be worn as a long or short necklace. It was pretty easy and fun to make and I think I’ll make some more today.  Want to join me?

Ooh, it’s Microblog Monday!  Check out Stirrup Queen’s great blog and list of microblog monday peeps!

Microblog_Mondays

Paleo Christmas Cookie Roundup

 

One of my favorite childhood traditions was the baking of Christmas cookies. My mom, my brother, and I would spend hours in the steamy, sweet-smelling kitchen mixing, rolling, forming, baking, and decorating. It was so fun and people always loved to get our goodies. Best yet, we loved eating them too!

As I’m working toward healthier eating, meaning pretty-paleo, gluten-free, and low or no refined sugar, I have been looking for recipes to use for this year’s treats. I may just dip into Mom’s favorite, The Joy of Cooking, and doctor up some of those recipes to fit new dietary needs.  Until then, I thought I’d share these with you. I haven’t made them yet, but I’ll let you know my results when I do!  Enjoy!

Here are the links, clockwise from top left:

Paleo Iced Gingerbread Cookies from beautyandthefoodie.com

No-Bake Rum Balls from paleoinpdx.com

Pumpkin Spice Cookies from primalpalate.com

Grain-Free Cut-Out Cookies from powerhungry.com

No-Bake-Coconut-Delights from wholenewmom.com

Thanks to all of these bloggers for lovely photos and recipes!

Let me know how it goes if you make any of these, or any other healthy holiday treats!